WINGY MANONE AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1927-1934 | The Classics Chronological Series – 774 (1994) FLAC (tracks), lossless

A publicity photo of Wingy Manone shows him apparently poised in the act of doing the dance called a buck-and-wing, but that's not where the moniker came from. When Joe Manone was ten years old he lost his right arm in a trolley accident. In time he came to be called "Wingy," and wore a wooden limb with a glove over the end of it, securing his cornet between the wooden fingers and working its valves with his left hand. Wingy's bands swung hard. He developed a warm, gruff voice and almost invariably displayed a wild sense of humor. What Classics 774 delivers is a step-by-step synopsis of Manone's earliest work, including quite a bit of previously hard to find material. The four titles from 1927 were recorded in Wingy's home town of New Orleans. Earl Warner's twerpy vocal on the first selection illustrates exactly why listeners should be thankful for Wingy's decision to develop himself as a singer. Up in Chicago a year and a half later, Wingy fell in with a set of rough-and-tumble blokes who earnestly cooked each number to the bone. Next stop: the Gennett recording studio in Richmond, IN, where Manone led two sessions under the inspiring banner of Barbecue Joe & His Hot Dogs during the late summer and early autumn of 1930. Every single one of these sides is solid and catchy, especially the Hot Dogs' revival of Papa Charlie Jackson's "Shake That Thing." Most notably, "Tar Paper Stomp," also known as "Wingy's Stomp," is the earliest known recording involving a bouncy lick that would show up in Fletcher Henderson's book as "Hot and Anxious" and eventually earn a lot of money for Glenn Miller as "In the Mood." Here on Wingy's plate it comes across honest and natural as hash browns and scrambled eggs with a little bit of hot sauce. There is a discernible change in Wingy's voice over the span of just a few years. In 1928 he's earnest enough but doesn't attract a whole lot of attention. By 1930 he's sounding tougher. But the Wingy of 1934 calls out in a voice of magnetic, husky friendliness that would distinguish him for the rest of his days. Wingy's consistent front line of cornet (or trumpet after 1930), clarinet, and tenor sax was only occasionally beefed up with a trombone or extra trumpets. Three of the five tenors represented here languish in obscurity; Bud Freeman and Eddie Miller are familiar names, but who on earth was George Snurpus? This is exactly why early jazz studies are so adventuresome. You never know who is going to appear before your startled ears. Any hankering for famous and proven presences will be more than satisfied by the session of August 15, 1934. Wingy, Dicky Wells, Artie Shaw, and Bud Freeman are supported by Kaiser Marshall, John Kirby, guitarist Frank Victor, and your choice of pianists Teddy Wilson or Jelly Roll Morton. If that don't get it, nothing will. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist + Credits :

BOB HOWARD AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1076 (1999) | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Bob Howard did a lot of recording in the mid-'30s for Decca, with the hope that his Fats Waller-influenced jive singing would catch on as Waller's records had for Victor. It did not work out, but Howard did record enough material to fill up three CDs. This particular set has the 21 selections that he cut during five sessions in 1936-1937. Howard, who also played piano, sticks here exclusively to singing and is joined by sextets/septets that often include trumpeter Marty Marsalis, Sid Trucker, or Slats Long on clarinet and Zinky Cohn or Frank Froeba on piano. The music (which includes "Bojangles of Harlem," "Copper Colored Gal," "Me, Myself And I," "Penny Wise and Pound Foolish," and "He's a Gypsy From Poughkeepsie") is pleasing in small doses but a bit too derivative for extensive listening. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Bojangles of Harlem 2:42
Dorothy Fields / Jerome Kern
2     Mendel's Son's Swing Song 2:53
Erard
3     Sing Baby Sing 2:57
Channing Pollack / Jack Yellen
4     Swinging on the Moon 3:16
Mel Tormé / Joseph Young
5     Copper Colored Gal 2:50
J. Fred Coots / Benny Davis
6     That's What You Mean to Me 3:14
J. Fred Coots / Benny Davis
7     Hop, Skip and Jump 2:36
Bloch / Chancer         
8     You're Giving Me a Song and a Dance 2:52
Milton Ager / Marty Symes
9     Me, Myself and I 3:13
Irving Gordon / Alvin Kaufman / Allan Roberts
10     Spring Cleaning 2:27
Teddy Powell / Walter Samuels / Leonard Whitcup
11     You Can't Take It With You 2:50
Wes Hein
12     You're Just a Little Diff'rent 2:37
Mandell / Littau    
13     Bundle of Love 2:55
Joyner     
14     You're Precious to Me 2:56
Ballard / Pellish / Brusiloff
15     Fan My Brow 2:44
Unknown
16     Formal Night Harlem 3:10
Shuman / Faro / Leman     
17     He's a Gyspy from Poughkeepsie 2:49
Bud Green
18     Easy Living 2:44
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin
19     I'll Take the Key and Lock You Up 2:44
Tinturin /  Lawrence / Howell    
20     Sing and Be Happy 2:36
Akst / Clare
21     Penny Wise and Pound Foolish 2:31
Fred Rose